Registry Services

DOJ Closes Probe of VeriSign Over .Web TLD

The Justice Department has closed its investigation into VeriSign Inc.'s involvement in an auction for the .web internet domain.

CENTR Reports TLD Slowdown Partly Due to Deletes by Chinese Investors Which Had Peaked in 2016

The Council of European National Top-Level Domains Registries (CENTR) in its quarterly report released today, says global domains under all TLDs have contracted slightly due to declines in several larger new gTLDs.

EFF Warns ICANN Not to Engage in Censorship, Says It Should Stick to Technical Role

A series of articles published by EFF, coinciding with ICANN's 60th meeting in Abu Dhabi this week, Jeremy Malcolm warns that domain name registrars, registries and ICANN can become "free speech week leaks" for online censorship.

Dutch Geographic TLDs Refuse Public Access to Whois Data

Organizations behind two of the new geographic top-level domains, .amsterdam and .frl, have refused to provide public access to information about the registrants of domain names, otherwise known as Whois records.

Spanish Police Raid the Offices of .cat gTLD Registry

The offices of the .cat gTLD registry Fundació puntCAT were raided by the Spanish police this morning. The company reported the incident via a series of tweets as the raid was being carried out.

Forty Percent of New Generic TLDs Shrinking, According to Domain Incite Analysis

Forty percent of non-brand new gTLDs are shrinking, reports Kevin Murphy in Domain Incite: "According to numbers culled from registry reports, 172 of the 436 commercial gTLDs we looked at had fewer domains under management at the start of June than they did a year earlier.

China to Create National Cyberattack Database

China has revealed plans to create a national data repository for information on cyberattacks and will require telecom firms, internet companies and domain name service providers to report threats to it.

Domain Registries to Discuss Possibility of ICANN Fee Cuts in Private Meeting This Month

Heads of 20 or more gTLD registries will meet privately this month to discuss various topics including the possibility of a reduction in their ICANN fees.

Rightside, Donuts Merger Gets the Green Light from ICANN

New top-level domain registry operators, Rightside Group, Ltd. (NASDAQ:NAME) and Donuts Inc. have received ICANN's express consent on their merger plans announced last month.

Donuts, Rightside Group Merge in a $213M Acquisition Deal

Donuts Inc., a leading domain name registry for new top-level domains and Rightside Group today announced a merger agreement; Donuts has agreed to acquire Rightside for $10.60 per share in an all-cash tender offer, for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $213MM.

Operator of .feedback Says Breach Cured, Threatens MarkMonitor for Disclosure of Confidential Info

It has been reported that Jay Westerdal, CEO of ‘.feedback’, has confirmed the registry has cured the breached in response to ICANN ruling reported last month.

ISPs May Be Required to Remove Content, Shutdown Websites Under New EU-Wide Rules

Under a draft legislation approved by the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee on Tuesday, national enforcement authorities would be required to have a set of powers to detect and halt online breaches of consumers' rights across the European Union.

Thick Whois Policy for .COM Goes Live

"The domain name industry is kicking off one of its most fundamental shifts in its plumbing this week," Kevin Murphy reporting in Domain Incite.

.ORG Registry Stays With Current Backend Operator, But Will Save Millions in New Deal

"The non-profit that runs all .org domains and provides the bulk of the funding for the Internet Society and Internet Engineering Task Force has just saved itself millions of dollars a year," reports Kieren McCarthy in The Register.

New Technique Detects and Eliminates Abusive Domains at Time of Registration

A team of researchers from Princeton University and the University of California has developed a machine-learning algorithm named PREDATOR that can accurately establish domain reputation at the time of domain registration.